Before, after watching ‘Fighting With My Family,’ fans discuss WWE’s Paige and The Rock | Miami Herald

Regal South Beach Stadium 18 Movie Theater at Lincoln Road Mall in Miami Beach hosted a special screening of “Fighting With My Family,” which tells the real-life story of how Paige made it to the WWE main roster with support from her Bevis wrestling family (especially her brother Zak) in Norwich, Norfolk, England.

Having to retire from mat action in April because of a neck injury, Paige, 26, made the most of her in-ring time in WWE (2011-18) via FCW, NXT, Raw and SmackDown. She was the first NXT women’s champ and won the WWE women’s title twice. Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked her No. 1 of the top 50 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2014.

There were ups and downs, but Paige helped elevate the evolution of a revolution of women’s wrestling on the big stage. They are no longer labeled as just eye candy. Their matches mean more to fans than time for a bathroom break. They are women who can wrestle, bringing it as good as their male counterparts, sometimes even better.

Moviegoers enjoyed the flick (starring Florence Pugh as Paige) via Seven Bucks Productions (Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia) and WWE Studios. The Rock also portrays himself in a couple of scenes.

Below are some comments from moviegoers before and after the screening at the Regal South Beach theater.

BTW, the theater is not named after WWE NXT General Manager William Regal.

After showcasing the film successfully at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, “Fighting With My Family” is now gearing toward a Los Angeles and New York release on Feb. 14. Then nationwide on Feb. 22 and in the UK on March 1.

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Jim Varsallone

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Jim Varsallone covers pro wrestling, something he’s done since his college days in the late 1980s. Spanning four decades, he currently covers WWE (Raw, SmackDown and NXT), Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, Lucha Underground, MLW, WOW, FSCW, AEW and the South Florida indies. He also writes MMA -- mostly profile stories and video interviews with American Top Team talent in South Florida. As for pro wrestling, he writes feature stories and profile pieces, updates upcoming show schedules in South Florida, photographs the action and interviews talent (audio and video) -- sharing the content here and via social media on his Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channel: jim varsallone (jimmyv3 channel).

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